The musings of an architect who loves mid century glass, the Black Lips, military watches, architecture, chairs, guitars, Oulipo, Rauschenberg, and on and on.

Friday, February 11, 2011

Impressive Greenland National Gallery winner

I like BIG Architects' adherence to the modernist principle that walls are solid and voids are windows. No holes in walls. Not once. (Even Mies succumbed at the Barcelona Pavilion, in the 'other' building, or was that slipped in after, when it became a gift shop?)

If you're talking about no glass being in the Barcelona Pavilion wall, yes, some of the walls like this one extend past the envelope. The original building was pretty much identical to what's there now. It was demolished only a year after it was built, then rebuilt between 1983 and 1896. Some parts of the original remained in a warehouse and were resurrected by Rem Koolhaas for a Biennale Exhibition in Venice.

Oh, and what is in there now is what was in there, sorry. (The chairs designed by Mies for the space, for instance). It was an exhibition pavilion. The gift shop function was added, I believe, and I'm not sure what was in that part before.